Just The Facts

We love hearing from our customers about their inaugural rides. It's one of those great shared experiences that keeps us doing what we do, and more often than not makes us smile. This one, from Vikram, hit the mark on the 'feeling' and then took it to 11 with some cold, hard data. I can't help but share it. Enjoy!

I received the bike on Monday and got it built up at the local bike shop. Rode it for the first time yesterday. It looked amazing but I wasn't sure how it would ride. I've had my previous bike for the past 3-years (been riding for 4 years) and have become quite used to it. The first few pedal strokes in the parking lot of the shop to adjust saddle height were not really revealing. It felt quite different from what I've been used to all these years. I kind of felt the way when I got my BMW after having driven my wife's minivan for a while - my brain was telling me it's better, but the body was taking time adjusting to the new sensations/feedback.

I wanted to conduct a more objective test of the bike's capability rather than relying on my feelings. We have a 10.5% grade, mile-long climb close to home that I've used to monitor my evolution as a cyclist over the years. I thought it would be the perfect place to go for the inaugural ride. The climb is about 7-miles from home and I used that time to familiarize myself with the bike and the Campy shifting (SRAM for 3 years). I got to the climb and decided to give it everything like all my prior efforts. I'm not a racer and don't understand stuff like bottom bracket stiffness, compliance, etc. All I know is that the bike leaped forward with each pedal stroke. It almost seemed magical like someone had gotten rid of friction - I've never had that sensation before.

I knew I probably had done better and rushed home to upload the data to Strava. I was a full 56 seconds faster than my previous PR (almost 12% as per my rough calculations)!! I can understand a few seconds faster because of the thrill and excitement of a new bike, but 56 seconds can only be attributed to the bike.

I'm pretty sure I was smiling or rather grinning the entire ride. What else can I say but thank you for such an awesome and amazing bike. I know I was like an impatient kid at times and would like to thank Jenn for being so patient all this time. It was worth the wait. I could go on and on about the color scheme - just great!